What a great name.

I tried without any level of success to get my wife to name our children after this explorer.  Yes both the boy and the girl.  I figured that it was a stately name with a huge amount historical significance.  But it did not catch on.  So, now I implore anyone having a child to consider this name for their young offspring.

This was all brought on by the posting of pics of my sister’s new godson, Benjamin Walter.  This child had another name before he was born, but was changed soon after the baby shower for him.  The happy couple are great people, but why not change it to Magellan Walter?

My wife and I spent an immense amount of time deciding on the names of our children.  We set up polls for family and friends to vote on, just to make sure that we had everyone’s input.  It was actually a great experiment.  We got an amazing amount of input.  My favorite was with our first child, our daughter.  My uncle replied by saying “…remember, you are naming a child not a monument.”  While very true, it is, well ironic I guess, because his middle name, as well his brother’s middle name, are Army bases, Detrick and Knox, respectively.  Maybe it was his ire for being named after a chemical and communications depot in the middle of Maryland.  Who knows?  But it makes you rethink the naming process.

All babies born into the world are born with nothing but love.  The first thing we give to them is a name.  This is something that they will live with for the rest of their lives, barring legal name changes, but even then their children will more than likely have to know it for their credit card application. My favorite line from a movie regarding this change is from “The Wedding Singer” when Adam Sandler’s character says to Drew Barrymore’s character, “So, you’re going to be Julia Gulia.”   So, I can appreciate my uncle’s concern, but it is the one moment when you feel like you have given life to more than a person, you have given life to a persona.  This individual will live with this moniker for their youth and perhaps beyond.  It is an integral part in being a good parent.  Beside good prenatal care, this is what you have to offer your child at birth. 

Naming anything is always an interesting endeavor.  When you get a pet, dog, cat or otherwise, you struggle with what to call it.  We have a dog named Hatteras, we call her Hattie.  When we adopted her she had the name Tina.  Now she came from a shelter, and they knew her name was Tina when they got her.  So we as “parents” made the decision to change her name.  With pets you have a little more latitude than with humans, we named our dog after the barrier island off of North Carolina, where we vacation and where I proposed to my wife.  This, at the time, felt right, and still does, but I would have never dreamed of naming any of our children after this beautiful place.  But even with my wife it’s always interesting.  She tells the story of meeting new people on many different occasions, and when she tells them her name is Molly, they often respond by saying, “I had a dog named Molly.”  Now there is a ringing endorsement for an Irish nickname.

So, remember when naming you children:

-Don’t name them after a pet or place (yes this includes names like Austin, or Dallas).

-You are naming a person, not a monument (or a military base).

-Remember your ancestors, they are the link to the past and the key to the future.

-Magellan is a fine name, and has some great nicknames, Maggie for girls and Magellan for boys!

Thanks for listening;)